Binding traits to case nodes

ABSTRACT

Case management systems and techniques are disclosed. In various embodiments, for each of a plurality of case nodes comprising a case model a trait definition comprising a corresponding set of traits associated with that case node is received. The respective trait definitions are used to bind each set of traits to the case node with which the set of traits is associated in case instances created based on the case model.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims a benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. 120 of the filing date of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/586,124, filed Sep. 27, 2019, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,106,743,entitled “BINDING TRAITS TO CASE NODES,” which is a continuation of, andclaims a benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 of the filing date ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/502,281, filed Sep. 30, 2014, issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 10,467,295, entitled “BINDING TRAITS TO CASE NODES,”which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/031,594 entitled “BINDING TRAITS AND EXTERNAL OBJECTS TO CASE MODELNODES AND COMPOSITE INDEX FOR SAME,” filed Jul. 31, 2014, which areincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE TECHNOLOGY

Case management systems, software, and/or cloud-based or otherelectronically-provided case management services (collectively, “CaseManagement Systems”) are used to automate the management of complex setsof documents or other content and associated business or otherprocesses, particularly in situations in which the documents or othercontent that may need to be managed for respective particular instancesof a case model/type (e.g., a loan application) may not be the same foreach instance and the processing required and/or selected to beperformed may not be the same for each instance.

A case model (“Case Model”) typically describes a type of case,instances of which are to be managed by a Case Management System. Asopposed to a very structured business process that defines apredetermined workflow that does not vary from instance to instance,using a Case Model one can model ad hoc actions and define responsesthereto with mini workflows, enabling the processing of respectiveinstances of a Case Model to be determined dynamically at runtime based,e.g., on events, context data, user input, dynamic evaluation ofdocuments or other content, etc. As a result, each instance of a CaseModel (e.g., the respective loan applications of different applicants)may follow its own course as determined at each step by processing asdefined in applicable portions of the Case Model.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the technology are disclosed in the followingdetailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process toperform case management.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a casemanagement system and environment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a casemanagement system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a process andsystem to create and/or provide access to case management instances.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto receive and store a case model.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto receive and store a case model.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hierarchical datamodel in an embodiment of a case management system.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hierarchical datamodel in an embodiment of a case management system

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a case model andassociated trait definitions in an embodiment of a case managementsystem.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto bind traits to case nodes.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto store and process case node traits.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto exhibit behaviors associated with case nodes.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto store persistently data associated with traits bound to case nodes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technology can be implemented in numerous ways, including as aprocess; a system; a computer program product embodied on a computerreadable storage medium; and/or a processor, such as a processorconfigured to execute instructions stored on and/or provided by a memorycoupled to the processor. In general, the order of the steps ofdisclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the technology.Unless stated otherwise, a component such as a processor or a memorydescribed as being configured to perform a task may be implemented as ageneral component that is temporarily configured to perform the task ata given time or a specific component that is manufactured to perform thetask. As used herein, the term ‘processor’ refers to one or moredevices, circuits, and/or processing cores configured to process data,such as computer program instructions.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the technology isprovided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate thetechnology. The technology is described in connection with suchembodiments, but the technology is not limited to any embodiment. Thescope of the technology is limited only by the claims and the technologyencompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents.Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the technology. Thesedetails are provided for the purpose of example and the technology maybe practiced according to the claims without some or all of thesespecific details.

Binding traits (e.g., metadata and behavior) at each case node of a casemodel is disclosed. In various embodiments, within a case model, thehierarchical/nested container model reflects a data model and how thedocuments/contents of a case are organized, what data they contain, andhow they behave. In various embodiments, all possible “bags” (i.e.,sets) of metadata and behavior (also called traits) can be modeled andattached to each of the case nodes in the hierarchical container model.These traits in various embodiments not only define the metadata, butalso the behavior at each of these case nodes. For example, adding a“nickname” may result in an associated behavior, e.g., informing teammembers that the nickname has been added.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto perform case management. In the example shown, a case modeldefinition is received and stored (102). The case model definition isused to create new instances based on the case model, sometimes referredto herein as “case instances” or “case management instances”, and/or toprovide access to previously-created instances (104). For example, acase model may be defined and stored for a loan application andassociated processes. Case instances may be created based on the casemodel and each respective case instance used to manage a correspondingloan application, for example by different respective loan applicants.

A case model typically describes a case management system. Using a casemodel, one can model ad hoc actions with mini workflows, for example, asopposed to a very structured process that defines an end-to-end businessworkflow. In various embodiments, a case model comprises ahierarchical/nested container model (sometimes referred to herein as a“hierarchical data model”), and may in addition define case roles, casephases (states), and/or permissions. In some embodiments, permissionsmay be defined for each case node and/or level in the hierarchy, and mayvary in some embodiments based at least in part on the respective phases(states) of a state machine defined for a case node.

In various embodiments, a case model may include a hierarchical/nestedcontainer model. This model represents how the data within a case isorganized and what data is captured during runtime. Each node in thehierarchy is sometimes referred to herein as a “case node”. Case nodesat the lowest level of a case model hierarchy may be referred to as“case leaf nodes” or simply “leaf nodes”. “Case leaf nodes” in variousembodiments may point to a specific business object or document type.

The term “case role” is used herein to refer to user roles that havebeen defined in a case model. In various embodiments, users may beassigned to case roles with respect to instances of a case model, and ateach case node in the case model permissions may be designated byreference to one or more case roles. During runtime in some embodimentsmembers may be added or removed from these roles at case node instancescorresponding to respective instances of a type of case as defined in acase model.

In various embodiments, at each case node a metadata model that definesone or more traits and/or associated behavior may be defined.

In various embodiments, a case model as described herein may be createdusing a domain-specific or other development module or tool. Forexample, reusable elements, such sample case nodes typical of those usedin the domain (e.g., documents, case roles, behaviors, etc. Typicallyassociated with a loan application process, a new drug approvalapplication, etc.), primitives usable to define a state machine and/orassociated processing for respective case nodes, etc., may be provided.For example, an application programming interface (API) may be defined,and/or a visual or other case model development tool may be provided.

In various embodiments, a case model definition is embodied in aneXtensible Markup Language (XML) or other structured data file. A casemanagement system and/or platform is provided, which is configured(e.g., by software) to load a case model definition, parse thedefinition, and create an instance of the case model based on thedefinition. Instance-specific attributes and/or state information orother metadata may be stored in a case model instance data store, e.g.,a database. At runtime, the case model definition file and the casemodel instance data for a given instance are used by the disclosed casemanagement system to implement the case model instance, including byperforming processing and managing case model instance associatedcontent per the case model definition, in light of the current values ofthe case model instance data for that instance.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a casemanagement system and environment. In the example shown, client systems202 are connected via a network 204, e.g., the Internet, to a casemanagement system 206. In various embodiments, the case managementsystem 206 may be configured to implement the process of FIG. 1 . Casemanagement system 206 uses case models stored in data storage 208 toprovide case management services with respect to case managementinstances, the instance variable data values of which also are stored,in this example, in data storage 208. For example, one or more ofclients 202 may connect via network 204 to case management system 206 toobtain access to case management services. For example, case managementsystem 206 may expose a “case management system as a service”, e.g., asa web service, enable clients 202 to connect to case management system206, create case management instances based on case models stored indata storage 208. The users of client system 202 may be prompted toprovide data values and/or other user input to populate case managementinstances with metadata, user data, documents, etc., and/or such otheruser input as may be required to advance case instances through casemanagement processing as defined in the case model.

In the example shown in FIG. 2 , a case model developer system 210,e.g., a client computer system, also can connect to case managementsystem 206 via network 204. In some embodiments, a case modeldevelopment user interface and/or service may be accessed and used todefine a case model. For example, a visual or other developer tool maybe presented to enable a developer using client system 210 to define acase model and cause the case model to be stored in data storage 208 anddeployed by case management system 206. In some embodiments, deploymentof a case model includes making the case model available to be used tocreate case management instances based on the model, and to use the casemodel to perform with respect to each such instance the case managementprocessing as defined in the case model.

In various embodiments, a case model may indicate one or more contentobjects to be associated with respective instances of a case model. Thecase model may include metadata and associated behaviors to enableinstance-specific content objects (e.g., documents) to be associatedwith case leaf nodes of a case instance. In the example shown in FIG. 2, content objects may be accessed via a content management system 212configured to manage content objects stored in an associated contentrepository 214. In various embodiments, case management system 206 maybe configured to use instance variables associated with a given caseinstance and metadata and/or behaviors defined in an associated casemodel to interact programmatically with content management system 212 toobtain and/or manage documents or other content objects associated witha case instance. In some embodiments, case management system 206 may beconfigured, e.g., via the case model, to invoke services and/or otherfunctionality of content management system 212 with respect to suchdocuments or other content objects.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a casemanagement system. In some embodiments, the case management system ofFIG. 3 corresponds to case management system 206 of FIG. 2 . In theexample shown, case management system 206 includes a networkcommunication interface 302, such as a wireless or other networkinterface card, to provide network connectivity, e.g., to network 204 ofFIG. 2 . A case model development module 304 is accessible to developersvia network communication interface 302 and may be used to create and/ormodify case model definitions. In some embodiments, a visual or otheruser interface is provided, via network communication interface 302, toenable case models to be created and/or modified. For example, adeveloper may use a browser to access the developer user interface insome embodiments. Case model definitions are stored by case modeldevelopment module 304 by using a backend database (or other datastorage) interface 306 to store the case model(s) in case model store308.

Referring further to FIG. 3 , the case management system 206 includes acase management module 310. In various embodiments, case managementmodule 310 includes functionality to enable users, e.g., users of clientsystems 202 of FIG. 2 , to create and/or use case management instancesbased on case models stored in case model store 308. Case managementmodule 310, for example, may expose a web or other interface to remoteusers and may receive via said interface a request to create and/oraccess a case instance. Case management module 310 uses databaseinterface 306 to obtain an associated case model definition from casemodel store 308, to use the case model to instantiate case instances.Instance variables are stored by case management module 310 in caseinstance data store 312.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a process andsystem to create and/or provide access to case management instances. Insome embodiments, the process of FIG. 4 may be implemented by a casemanagement system and/or a component thereof, such as case managementmodule 310 of FIG. 3 . In the example shown, case management system 400receives a request 402 to create or access a case management instanceand invokes instantiation process 404. Instantiation process 404 uses acase model definition 406 associated with the request, e.g., a casemodel indicated explicitly and/or otherwise associated with datacomprising the request 402, and case management instance data 408associated with the case management instance, to instantiate and provideaccess to a case management instance 410.

In various embodiments, a case model definition such as model definition406 may include an XML file or other structured data, which the casemanagement system is configured to parse and use to construct caseinstances based on the case model. For example, the hierarchical datastructure may be defined, along with metadata and associated behaviorsfor each case node. A case management instance, such as case managementinstance 410, may include an in memory instance of a data structuredefined in case model definition 406, which is used to store instancevariables, such as instance data 408 in this example.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto receive and store a case model. In some embodiments, the process ofFIG. 5 is used to implement step 102 of FIG. 1 and is performed by acase management system, such as case management system 206 of FIG. 2 ,e.g., case model development module 304 of FIG. 3 . In the exampleshown, an indication that a new case model is to be defined is received(502). A problem domain-specific developer interface to be used todefine the case model is provided (504). For example, in someembodiments a developer may indicate in a request to define a new casemodel, and/or may be prompted to indicate, a “problem domain” with whichthe case model is associated, such as a loan application, an employmentapplication, a product development or other business project, ahealthcare or other patient, a claim for reimbursement or benefits, or amatter being handled by a professional or personal service provider,such as a lawsuit, home renovation project, etc. In various embodiments,the problem domain-specific developer interface provides access toproblem domain-specific elements to assist the developer in defining thecase model. For example, a loan application typically is initiated by aloan applicant submitting an application, and typically involvesgathering information to verify and evaluate the applicant's identity,financial assets, income, creditworthiness, etc. In some embodiments, atemplate may be provided to be used as a starting point. The developeruses visual or other tools to customize the template as desired todefine a case model.

Once the developer has completed and submitted the case modeldefinition, the case model definition is received, stored, and deployed(506). In some embodiments, a runtime representation of the definitionis processed, e.g., upon submission by the developer, to generate an XMLor other structured data file that embodies the case model as defined.Deployment in various embodiments includes making the case modeldefinition available to be used to instantiate case management instancesbased on the case model, e.g., individual loan application cases.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto receive and store a case model. In some embodiments, the process ofFIG. 6 is included in step 506 of FIG. 5 . In the example shown, adefinition of a hierarchical/nested data model is received (602). Forexample, a user interface that enables a developer to drag and drop casenodes onto a canvas and to indicate hierarchical relationships betweencase nodes may be provided and used by the developer to define ahierarchical/nested data model. A definition of case roles is receivedand stored (604). For example, a “loan application” case model mayinclude user roles such as “loan initiator”, “underwriter”, “appraiser”,etc. For each case node in the hierarchical/nested data model, adefinition of metadata, behaviors, content (e.g., documents),states/phases (and transitions between states/phases), and/orpermissions (e.g., by case role) is received (606). For example, invarious embodiments a developer interface may be provided to enable adeveloper to select a case node and be presented with an interface todefine a state machine for that case node.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hierarchical datamodel in an embodiment of a case management system. In variousembodiments, a case model, such as one defined using the processes ofFIGS. 5 and 6 , may include a hierarchical/nested container model, suchas the one shown in FIG. 7 . In the example shown, hierarchical/nestedcontainer model 700 includes a root node 702 at a first (highest)hierarchical level. At a first hierarchical level below the root node,nodes 704 and 706 are included. Finally, in a lowest hierarchical level(in this example), node 704 has two “case leaf nodes” 708 and 710. Invarious embodiments, metadata, behaviors, permissions, etc. that havebeen defined for a case node extend (or in some embodiments may at theoption of the case model developer be extended) to child case nodes ofthe case node at which such metadata, behaviors, permissions, etc. havebeen defined.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hierarchical datamodel in an embodiment of a case management system, such as casemanagement system 206 of FIG. 2 . In particular, a hierarchical/nestedcontainer model for a home loan application is illustrated. In theexample shown, each instance of a “loan” case includes a root node 802and two first level sub-nodes 804 and 806, in this example one (804) forfinancial information of the applicant and associated processing, andanother (806) for information and processing associated with the home tobe purchased using the loan. The “applicant information” sub-node 804includes a first case leaf node 808 for Forms W-2 and a second case leafnode 810 for the applicant's tax returns. “Property” sub-node 806includes case leaf nodes 812, 814, and 816 for the title report,appraisal report, and home inspection report, respectively. In variousembodiments, the case model definition may include for each case node adefinition of metadata and/or behaviors for that case node. For caseleaf nodes, such as case leaf nodes 808, 810, 812, 814, and 816, thecase model definition may include information regarding documents orother content objects to be associated with such nodes, including insome embodiments an identification of a storage location in which suchdocuments are to be stored, e.g., in a content repository such asrepository 214 of FIG. 2 associated with a content management systemsuch as content management system 212 of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a case model andassociated trait definitions in an embodiment of a case managementsystem. In the example shown, each case node (702, 704, 708, 710, and706) of the case model shown in FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 9 to haveassociated therewith a corresponding trait definition, i.e., 902, 904,908, 910, and 906, respectively. In various embodiments, at each casenode, the corresponding trait definition may include a definition of aset of one or more metadata values or other attributes associated withthat case node and/or behaviors associated with such metadata valuesand/or other behaviors associated with that case node. In variousembodiments, a case model definition may include a definition of ahierarchical/nested container model, such as case model 700 of FIG. 7 ,and for each case node in the hierarchical/nested container model thecase model definition may include a corresponding trait definition, suchas trait definitions 902, 904, 908, 910, and 906 of FIG. 9 . In variousembodiments, the trait definitions may be used by a case managementsystem, such as case management system 206 of FIGS. 2 and 3 , to createand use case management instances that implement the trait definition.For example, metadata attributes associated with a case node by a traitdefinition may be used to create for a case instance a correspondingdata structure to store case instance-specific values for such metadataattributes.

Similarly, behaviors included in the trait definition may beimplemented. For example, a behavior to send a notification when ametadata attribute is updated with a new value for a case instance maybe implemented by generating and sending the notification as defined inthe trait definition. In some embodiments, a behavior as defined in atrait definition may be associated with metadata attributes and/or mayuse or otherwise depend on case instance variables, such as usersassigned to case roles with respect to a case instance, etc. Forexample, a trait definition may specify that a notification should besent to a user(s) assigned to a specified case role with respect to thecase instance.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto bind traits to case nodes. In some embodiments, the process of FIG.10 may be implemented by a case management system, such as casemanagement system 206 of FIGS. 2 and 3 , to bind traits to case nodes asdefined in a case model definition. In some embodiments, the case modeldefinition may comprise an XML or other structured data file. Ahierarchical/nested container model portion of the case model definitionmay be parsed to determine and generate runtime data structures thatrepresent the respective case node and their relationships to eachother. In the example shown in FIG. 10 , trait definition processingbegins at a first case node in the hierarchy (1002), e.g., a root node.A definition of a set of traits to be associated with the case nodebeing processed (initially in this example the root node) is received(1004). For example, a trait definition portion of the case modeldefinition may be parsed to obtain the trait definition for the rootnode. Data structures to store traits (e.g., metadata values) and/or tobe used to provide behaviors defined in the trait definition are created(1006) and associated with the case node to which they are to be boundper the case model definition. If there are further trait definitions tobe processed (1008), processing advances to a next case node (1010) andthe trait definition for that case node is processed (1004, 1006).Processing continues until all trait definitions for all case nodes havebeen processed (1008).

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto store and process case node traits. In various embodiments, datastructures created as described above in connection with FIG. 10 may beused to store data values as in the process of FIG. 11 . In someembodiments, the process of FIG. 11 is implemented by a case managementsystem, such as case management system 206 of FIGS. 2 and 3 , to storecase instance-specific metadata values for traits bound to case nodes asdefined in a case model definition, and/or to exhibit associatedbehaviors as defined in the case model definition. In the example shown,a metadata value associated with a case node of a case instance isreceived (1102). For example, a user may provide user input, via a userinterface, to provide a value for a metadata or other attribute definedin a trait definition for a case node. The metadata value is stored in adata structure associated with the case node of the case instance, in alocation associated with a corresponding trait as defined in the casemodel definition (1104). Any behaviors associated with receipt and/orstoring the metadata value is/are exhibited (1106), e.g., sending anotification, triggering a business process, transitioning a statemachine of the case node to a destination phase/state, etc.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto exhibit behaviors associated with case nodes. In various embodiments,the process of FIG. 12 may be used to implement behaviors defined in atrait definition associated with a case node and/or instances thereof.In some embodiments, the process of FIG. 12 is implemented by a casemanagement system, such as case management system 206 of FIGS. 2 and 3 .In the example shown, criteria associated with exhibiting a behavior asdefined in a trait definition associated with a case node are monitored(1202). For example, a listening entity may be configured to listen foran event, condition, and/or other criteria defined in the traitdefinition as triggering the behavior. If the criteria is/are determinedto have been met (1204), the behavior as defined in the trait definitionfor the case node is exhibited (1206). If not (1204), monitoringcontinues (1208, 1202) until the process ends, e.g., the case instanceis deactivated and associated values stored.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a processto store persistently data associated with traits bound to case nodes.In some embodiments, the process of FIG. 13 is implemented by a casemanagement system, such as case management system 206 of FIGS. 2 and 3 .In the example shown, an indication is received to store case instancedata persistently (1302). For example, a case instance that has beencreated and had case instance variables populated with data values maybe desired to be stored persistently. Alternatively, a case instancethat has been accessed by using a case model and previously stored caseinstance data to instantiate the case instance may be desired to bestored persistently, for example once a user is done using the caseinstance actively. The case instance data is stored persistently,including metadata, content, and state information bound to therespective case nodes of the case instance (1304). In some embodiments,a database table and/or other data structure may be used to store caseinstance data persistently. If some embodiments, a schema or otherstructure of a database table or other data structure may be createdand/or may have been created previously based at least in part on a casemodel definition of which the case instance is an instance. For example,the respective trait definitions of case nodes comprising the case modelmay be parsed and processed in some embodiments to generate and/orcomprise a schema to be used to store corresponding case instance datapersistently.

In another example, assume the following levels of hierarchy, which areall container nodes, have been defined:

Engagement Space->Project->Checklist->ChecklistItem

Further assume that within ChecklistItem there is a Case Leaf Node,e.g., “ChecklistItemContent” which represents the documents within thatcontainer. This hierarchy represents Engagement Collaboration kinds ofsolutions. Under various situations, and runtime modes, different setsof traits could be attached at each level, e.g., to meet therequirements of different “verticals”. For example, in the case of aSupplier Exchange vertical solution, one could have at a) EngagementSpace, a trait called “Capital Project” that captures a certain set ofmetadata applicable to Capital Projects. Likewise, at b) Project, onecould have a trait called “Supplier Contract” which captures metadatarelated to Supplier Contracts, etc. With each set of traits associatedbehavior may be defined. In various embodiments, the same hierarchycould be used to serve a different vertical, such as the Commercial LoanEngagement Space. For the latter vertical, at a) Engagement Space, atrait called ‘Customer Engagement Space” could be attached. That traitmay capture, for example, “Customer data” such as customer name,address, and so on. Similarly, at b) Project, one could have a traitcalled “Loan” which could capture the information related to acommercial loan with regards to this customer. On these traits one coulddefine events and model behavior if required.

In various embodiments, binding traits and behavior to case model nodes,as disclosed herein, enables case node-specific data to be gathered andmanaged and associated behaviors to be defined and provided. In variousembodiments, traits and associated behaviors may be defined orredefined, with respect to the same hierarchical data model/structure,enabling the same structure to be reused for different types of cases,with the differences between them being reflected in the traits andbehaviors that are bound to the respective case nodes of the data model.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detailfor purposes of clarity of understanding, the technology is not limitedto the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementingthe technology. The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and notrestrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for case management,the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computerreadable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:providing a developer interface to be used to define a case model;receiving, based on developer interaction with the developer interface,a hierarchical data model definition, the hierarchical data modeldefinition defining a hierarchical data model that represents how casedata is organized and comprises a hierarchy of case nodes; receiving,based on developer interaction with the developer interface, a firsttrait definition for a first case node from the hierarchy of case nodes,the first trait definition defining a metadata value for the first casenode and a behavior associated with the metadata value; storing a casemodel definition that comprises the hierarchical data model definitionand the first trait definition; parsing the hierarchical data modeldefinition to determine and generate runtime data structures thatrepresent the case nodes in the hierarchy of case nodes andrelationships between the case nodes in the hierarchy of case nodes;binding a first trait to the first case node, wherein binding the firsttrait to the first case node comprises parsing the first traitdefinition for the first case node and based on the first traitdefinition: creating a runtime data structure for storing the metadatavalue based on the first trait definition and associating the runtimedata structure to store the metadata value with the first case node; andcreating a runtime data structure to provide the behavior associatedwith the metadata value and associating the runtime data structure toprovide the behavior associated with the metadata value with the firstcase node; receiving case instance data for a case instance, the caseinstance data including a case instance specific metadata valueassociated with the first case node; storing the case instance specificmetadata value in the runtime data structure for storing the metadatavalue; and exhibiting the behavior associated with the metadata valuebased on the case instance specific metadata value.
 2. The computerprogram product of claim 1, wherein the first trait definition defines acriterion for exhibiting the behavior.
 3. The computer program productof claim 2, further comprising computer instructions for configuring alistener to listen for the criterion for exhibiting the behavior andtriggering the behavior based on a determination the criterion has beenmet.
 4. The computer program product of claim 2, further comprisingcomputer instructions for triggering the behavior based on receiving thecase instance specific metadata value.
 5. The computer program productof claim 2, further comprising computer instructions for triggering thebehavior based on storing the case instance specific metadata value inthe runtime data structure for storing the metadata value.
 6. Thecomputer program product of claim 1, further comprising computerinstructions for: receiving a state machine definition for a statemachine associated with first node; storing the state machine definitionas part of the case model definition; and implementing the state machineaccording to the state machine definition for the case instance, whereinthe behavior comprises transitioning the state machine to a destinationstate.
 7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the behaviorcomprises sending a notification.
 8. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the behavior comprises interacting programmaticallywith a content management system to manage a content object associatedwith the case instance.
 9. The computer program product of claim 1,further comprising instructions for: receiving an indication that thecase model is to be defined, the indication that the case model is to bedefined including an indication of a problem domain; and providing thedeveloper interface based on the indication the case model is to bedefined, wherein the developer interface comprises domain-specificelements for the problem domain.
 10. The computer program product ofclaim 9, wherein the developer interface comprises: drag and dropfunctionality to allow a developer to drag and drop case nodes onto acanvas and to indicate hierarchical relationships between case nodes todefine the hierarchical data model; and selectable reusable elements,the selectable reusable elements including an element representing thebehavior, the element representing the behavior selectable to associatethe behavior with the first case node.
 11. The computer program productof claim 1, wherein the first case node is a root node of thehierarchical data model.
 12. The computer program product of claim 1,wherein the first case node is a non-root node of the hierarchical datamodel.
 13. A method for electronic case management, the methodcomprising: providing, at a developer client system, a developerinterface to be used to define a case model; receiving, by a casemanagement computer system, a hierarchical data model definition, thehierarchical data model definition defining a hierarchical data modelthat represents how case data is organized and comprises a hierarchy ofcase nodes; receiving, by the case management computer system, a firsttrait definition for a first case node from the hierarchy of case nodes,the first trait definition defining a metadata value for the first casenode and a behavior associated with the metadata value; storing, by thecase management computer system, a case model definition that comprisesthe hierarchical data model definition and the first trait definition;creating, by the case management computer system, a case instance,creating the case instance comprising: parsing the hierarchical datamodel definition to determine and generate runtime data structures thatrepresent the case nodes in the hierarchy of case nodes andrelationships between the case nodes in the hierarchy of case nodes;binding a first trait to the first case node, wherein binding the firsttrait to the first case node comprises parsing the first traitdefinition for the first case node and based on the first traitdefinition: creating a runtime data structure for storing the metadatavalue based on the first trait definition and associating the runtimedata structure to store the metadata value with the first case node; andcreating a runtime data structure to provide the behavior associatedwith the metadata value and associating the runtime data structure toprovide the behavior associated with the metadata value with the firstcase node; receiving, by the case management computer system, caseinstance data for the case instance, the case instance data including acase instance specific metadata value associated with the first casenode; storing, by the case management computer system, the case instancespecific metadata value in the runtime data structure for storing themetadata value; and exhibiting, by the case management computer system,the behavior associated with the metadata value based on the caseinstance specific metadata value.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereinthe first trait definition defines a criterion for exhibiting thebehavior.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising configuring alistener to listen for the criterion for exhibiting the behavior andtriggering the behavior based on a determination the criterion has beenmet.
 16. The method of claim 13, further comprising triggering thebehavior based on receiving the case instance specific metadata value.17. The method of claim 13, further comprising triggering the behaviorbased on storing the case instance specific metadata value in theruntime data structure for storing the metadata value.
 18. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising: receiving, by the case management computersystem, a state machine definition for a state machine associated withfirst node; storing, by the case management computer system, the statemachine definition as part of the case model definition; andimplementing, by the case management computer system, the state machineaccording to the state machine definition for the case instance, whereinthe behavior comprises transitioning the state machine to a destinationstate.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the behavior comprisessending a notification.
 20. The method of claim 13, wherein the behaviorcomprises interacting programmatically with a content management systemto manage a content object associated with the case instance.
 21. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising instructions for: receiving anindication that the case model is to be defined, the indication that thecase model is to be defined including an indication of a problem domain;and providing the developer interface based on the indication the casemodel is to be defined, wherein the developer interface comprisesdomain-specific elements for the problem domain.
 22. The method of claim21, wherein the developer interface comprises: drag and dropfunctionality to allow a developer to drag and drop case nodes onto acanvas and to indicate hierarchical relationships between case nodes todefine the hierarchical data model; and selectable reusable elements,the selectable reusable elements including an element representing thebehavior, the element representing the behavior selectable to associatethe behavior with the first case node.
 23. The method of claim 13,wherein the first case node is a root node of the hierarchical datamodel.
 24. The method of claim 13, wherein the first case node is anon-root node of the hierarchical data model.